Painting device



June 10, 1969 s. KRIZMAN PAINTING DEVICE Original Filed Dec. 2, 1966 J FIG. 8

FIC5.3

INVENTOR.

STEVE KRIZMAN zd MJ ATTORNEY June 10, 1969 s. KRIZMAN PAINTING DEVICE Original Filed Dec. 2, 1966 Sheet FIG. K

FIG. 6

FIG.

O .V II I l INVENTOR.

STEVE KRIZMAN ATTORNEY United States Patent PAINTING DEVICE Steve Krizman, South Bend, Ind., assignor to Krizman Manufacturing Co., Inc., South Bend, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Continuation of application Ser. No. 598,734, Dec. 2,

1966. This application Oct. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 679,014 Int. Cl. Bc 1/08 US. Cl. 118-207 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A stripe painting device having a paint applicator with a roller for painting a stripe, in which a magnetized track means is used for controlling the direction of the paint applicator roller which follows the configuration of the track. The magnetic track means can be mounted on a metal surface and given various configurations conforming to the desired stripe.

This is a continuation of US. patent application Ser. No. 598,734, filed Dec. 2, 1966, and now abandoned.

A stripe or a number of stripes are often painted on automobile bodies and the like having relatively large surface areas with a variety of surface configurations and contours. These stripes are usually placed along the side of the automobile body and often extend substantially the full length thereof, and may be straight in some sections and curved in other sections along the length. Because of these irregularities along the length of the stripes and required variations in width from one stripe to another of a series, the stripes have generally been painted by hand in the past. This hand operation is not only tedious, time consuming and costly, but slight variations in stripe width and spacing are unavoidable and proper control of the amount of paint is difficult to maintain. While attempts have been made in the past to use jigs and guides in combination with a painting means, these past devices have not been satisfactory for a variety of different paint jobs where the surface is irregular and/or the stripes to be painted are curved. It is therefore one of the principal objects of the present invention to provide a highly versatile and adaptable stripe painting device, which embodies a track or jig-like means which can be readily arranged and manipulated to produce the desired paint stripe or line over irregular surfaces and with variations in configuration along the line from one end thereof to the other.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stripe painting device which will paint uniformly a series of stripes, which can vary the width from one stripe to another, and which can easily be controlled to give the optimum flow of paint and be readily varied from time to time to satisfy surface conditions and fluid consistency.

Still another object is to provide a device of the aforesaid type which involves the use of a track or jig means of a magnetic character capable of adhering to any iron or steel surface, retaining various configurations and contours, and adapting itself to surface relief and design variations.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of the present painting device showing it in operative position;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a front elevational view of the painting device, showing a portion of the device broken away to better illustrate the details thereof;

FIGURE 4 is a bottom view of the present device, showing a portion thereof broken away to illustrate the construction thereof; r

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view of the device, the section being taken on line 55 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the paint applicator and control portion, illustrating the manner in which the device is controlled;

FIGURE 7 is a vertical cross sectional view of the paint applicator portion illustrated in FIGURE 6, the section being taken on line 77 of the latter figure;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the applicator guide means of the present device, the section being taken on line 8-8 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of a portion of the paint applicator showing the construction in greater detail.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, numeral 10 designates generally the present painting device, having an applicator 12 attached to a base 14, a reservoir 16, and a guide mechanism generally indicated by the numeral 18. The apparatus is designed to paint a variety of either a single stripe or a series of parallel stripes in which the stripes may vary from one to another.

The applicator consists of a stem 20 formed integrally with base 14, the stem and base having a passage 22 therethrough extending from reservoir 16 to a slot 24. The slot divides stem 20 into two portions 26 and 28 and forms a cavity for paint wheel 30. The wheel is supported by lateral portions 26 and 28 on a pin 32 extending therethrough and through wheel 30. As can be seen in FIG- URE 5, the wheel is in close proximity to the lower end of passage 22; hence, the paint flowing downwardly from reservoir 16 is applied directly to the peripheral edge of wheel 30. The wheel is provided with a series of serrations on notches 34 around the entire periphery thereof, Which form small pockets for the paint applied to the periphery of the wheel from passage 22. The wheel is free to rotate on pin 32 in either direction and, during the rotation, the paint is carried from passage 22 downwardly to the surface on which the stripe is being painted, as the wheel is rolled along the surface.

A sleeve 40 is positioned on stem 20 above wheel 30 and is adjustable toward and away from the wheel by screw threads 42 inter-connecting the sleeve and stem. In order to control the flow of paint, the sleeve is moved toward or away from the wheel by rotating the sleeve on the screw threads. Movement of the sleeve toward the wheel reduces the space between the sleeve and the periphery of the wheel, thereby reducing the amount of paint permited to flow between the sleeve and the wheel to the surface being painted. Likewise, rotating the sleeve in the direction to increase the space between the sleeve and the wheel, increases the amount of paint flowing to the surface to be painted.

The guide means 18 includes an arm 50 having a central slot 52 through which stem 20 extends and along which the stem slides when an adjustment is made. The arm 50 seats on a shoulder 53 and is held firmly thereagainst by a nut 54 threaded onto stem 20 below arm 50. The slot 52 in arm 50 permits the paint applicator to be adjusted to form a series of stripes. The arm 50 is connected to a vertical portion 60 having a bifurcated lower end 62 for holding rollers 64 and 66, the two rollers being mounted on pins 68 and 70, respectively, extending through the lower part of portion 60. The rollers are designed to follow a guide track 70 having a flat horizontal portion 72 and a track portion 74 mounted along one edge of the horizontal portion 72. The track, as illustrated in the drawings, is rectangular in cross-section,

and each of the two rollers is provided with flanges 76 and 78, forming a central annular recessed surface 80 which rolls on track portion 74. The two flanges hold the rollers on track 74 so that, as the paint applicator is moved parallel with the track, the track and rollers guide the applicator to form a straight paint stripe. In order to adjust the applicator relative to the track to form a series of stripes or to form a stripe broader than the width of wheel 30, the nut 54 is loosened, and the stem 20 of the applicator is slipped along slot 52 to the desired position and then held in the adjusted position by the tightening of nut 54.

The guide track means 71 is made of a flexible magnetic material such as rubber or a rubber-like material, impregnated with magnetized particles which cause the flexible strip 71 to adhere to any ferrous metallic surface. The track means 71 is flexible and will conform to variations in contour of the surface and can be displaced in either direction laterally to form various curvatures in the stripes being painted. The track 74 may be formed integrally with horizontal portion 72, or it may be a separate member secured to the horizontal portion, or the track 74 may be magnetized and may form the sole support for retaining it in place for the painting operation. The track means may be varied in width over a wide range in order to obtain more flexibility. The composition of this flexible magnetic material is well known and hence will not be described in detail herein.

The reservoir 16 is preferably an inverted container having a screw threaded neck 90 secured to a threaded recessed portion 92 on the upper side of base 14 and the open end of neck 90 seats firmly on and forms an effective seal with a gasket 94 in the bottom of recess 92.

In the use and operation of the present painting device, track means 71 is placed on the metal surface on which a stripe or stripes are to be painted and is positioned away from the area to be painted but in direct parallel relation thereto. If the stripe is to be curved, the track means 71 is laid out with the same curvature and this curvature may vary from one place to another throughout the length of the track means 71. After the track has been properly placed on the metallic surface and reservoir 16 has been filled with paint, the base 14 is adjusted along arm 50 relative to track portion 74 to place applicator 12 in proper osition for painting the stripe. The painting unit is then placed in proper position for painting the stripe, with rollers 64 and 66 on track 74. With the rollers on the track, the painting unit is moved along the track with wheel 30 contacting the metal surface, thereby rotating and carrying the paint from passage 22 to the surface being painted. The flow of the paint from passage 22 to the surface being painted is adjusted by rotating sleeve 40 toward or away from the wheel, in the manner previously described herein, in order to provide the proper opening between the wheel and the adjacent edge of the sleeve. If a series of stripes is to be painted, the applicator is moved along arm 50 by loosening nut 54, moving the applicator to the desired position, and then re-tightening the nut. A series of stripes may be painted or a stripe or stripes may be increased to widths greater than the thickness of the wheel by shifting the applicator along arm 50 only sufficiently to widen the stripe rather than to paint a separate stripe.

Important advantages of the present painting device are the flexible track means 71 which permits the track to be laid out to form stripes having various curvatures, and the adjustable means which permits a series of parallel stripes or a wide stripe or stripes to be painted without moving the track means from its original position. The adjustment of the paint flow sleeve 40 to obtain the desired coating thickness also increases the versatility so that the stripes can be painted on a variety of different surfaces without the paint flowing beyond the edges of the stripe.

I claim:

1. A painting device comprising a unit having a base, a stem with a longitudinal slot in one end and with a fluid passage therethrough connected to the inner end of said slot, a reservoir mounted on said base and communicating with said passage, and an applicator including a wheel rotatably mounted on said stem in said slot and projecting outwardly therefrom beyond the end of the stem and on opposite sides of said slot, and a guide means for said unit, including a magnetized track means mountable on metal objects and adjustable to various configurations for controlling the direction of movement of said applicator, means movable on said track means, and a means connecting said movable means with said unit.

2. A painting device as defined in claim 1 in which magnetized track means consists of a flexible member which adheres to ferrous metal surfaces with the magnetism thereof forming the sole support for the track means on the metal surface.

3. A painting device as defined in claim 2 in which said track means includes a longitudinal raised portion and said guide means includes a roller and an arm for supporting said roller and having a laterally extending portion connected to the base.

4. A painting device as defined in claim 3 in which said laterally extending portion of the arm includes a means for adjusting said applicator toward and away from said track means.

5. A painting device as defined in claim 4 in which the adjustment means on said laterally extending portion of the arm includes a slot through which the stem of the base extends, and a nut threaded onto said stern for clamping said stem in various adjusted positions along said laterally extending arm portion.

6. A painting device as defined in claim 5 in which said wheel contains a series of notches spaced around the periphery thereof and a pin for rotatably mounting said wheel in the slot in said stem.

7. A painting device as defined in claim 6 in which a sleeve is threadedly mounted on said stem and is movable toward and away from said wheel by rotation of said sleeve on the stem for varying the distance between the adjacent edge of said sleeve and the periphery of the wheel to thereby control the flow of fluid from the reservoir to the wheel.

8. A painting device as defined in claim 6 in which the guide means includes a pair of rollers for engaging the track on said track means to guide the applicator in parallel relation to said track means.

9. A painting device as defined in claim 1 in which said wheel contains a series of notches spaced around the periphery thereof and a pin for rotatably mounting said wheel in the slot in said stem.

10. A painting device as defined in claim 9 in which a sleeve is threadedly mounted on said stem and is movable toward and away from said wheel by rotation of said sleeve on the stem, for varying the distance between the adjacent edge of said sleeve and the periphery of wheel to thereby control the flow of fluid from the reservoir to the wheel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,830,860 11/1931 Scoles 401193 XR 2,043,377 6/1936 Hulse 401193 XR 2,660,791 12/1953 Howell et al. 118-207 XR 2,721,347 10/1955 Benkowski 401-193 XR 3,109,755 11/1963 Stanley 118207 XR 3,359,590 12/1967 Perillo 401193 WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner.

R. 1. SMITH, Assistant Examiner.

US. 01. X.R. 4o 4s, 193 

